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For culinary celebrities whose lives revolve around food, quality often matters more than quantity. On the “Wiser Than Me podcast with Julia Louis-Dreyfus,” after Ina Garten was asked about her typical eating habits, she revealed that her morning meals tend to be simple and predictable — but always made of quality ingredients.
Garten shared that she generally had toast and coffee for breakfast, but the toast had to be slathered with good French butter made with shaved sea salt. “It’s called Beurre de Baratte with flaked sea salt,” Garten specified. “And it’s just so delicious.” This French butter packs a walloping 82% fat content, but it’s been revered as some of the best butter that is made. This particular butter has achieved something of a cult status among gourmands. The butter is churned, just like in the old days, and it can be a pricey purchase, typically costing at least $12 for a half pound of the stuff.
Some ingredients are worth the splurge
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Hailing from Normandy and wrapped in foil, the color of Beurre de Baratte butter is a darker yellow when compared to other kinds of butter, and the taste can be umami-forward, nutty, and just the right touch of salty. This butter offers a decadently smooth texture to glide across muffins, breads, and rolls. The sea salt used to flavor the slow-churned butter is also valuable. Taken from the Atlantic coast, the French salt adds a briny elegance to the special butter that makes this an ingredient that is sure to elevate any meal.
After enjoying her toast and butter, at 10:30 am sharp, Garten has a cup of tea sweetened with honey. For lunch, she tends to favor bowls of soup. She told Louis-Dreyfus she often pre-makes soup and leaves it in the freezer to be warmed up, like an Italian wedding soup.
Also during the interview, Garten admitted that after long days testing recipes, she’s prone to ordering from restaurants or going out with friends. Instead of eating and critiquing her own recipes, the luxury of having someone else’s cooking is a joy that even a talented chef like Garten appreciates and approves of.
Dining and Cooking